Anxiety and Stress Disorders

Diagnosing Depression

04/12/2006

Question:

Well I`ll start off by saying I`m 20 years old. You can say that I`ve had a lot of things going on in my life since I was about 12. The main thing was my father. He wasn`t really the fatherly type, it was my mom who took care of us mostly. Eventually he got a job that required him to live out of state for a year and transfer back. Well he never came back, my parents divorced and what not, so all throughout high school, I would skip, and get bad grades. I was a straight A student up until that point. Well from the time I was 15 to now, my mom and brother had been taking lots of medication for depression and anxiety. I always felt like I had it, but I never let anyone know. My fiance knows and believes me but I just feel like there`s so much going on and I dont want to tell anyone for them to say I`m lying or it`s in my head, my mom just ignores it like its nothing serious or that she knows I dont have it, but I`m just saying it for the hell of it. Every single day is like a drag to me, I`ve become very sensitive, you can say a little 0VER-sensitive since all of this started. I can cry very easily, over something so insignificant. I am a very tuff person, but if you know what to say to me you`ll get to me. It`s not really a question of IF I have depression or anxiety, I know I do, but what would be the consequences of keeping it to myself, if any?? I also have problems with work and my brother, as well as my health so all of this is accumilating and getting me even more depressed. I`m having that pain you get in your shoulder/back from being stressed. I have it so much now that it happens all times of the day not just when I`m at work or something. It feels like someone is stabbing me there.

Answer:

It certainly sounds like depression could be part of what is going on with you, although you really need to see a primary care physician as your first step. Telling you physician about your history, how you feel and what is going on is important. Your physician may diagnose you, or may suggest you see a counselor or a therapist. Whether or not you are suffering from depression, you could benefit from some counseling to help you sort out and deal with difficult life issues. No one can change your past, but learning how to face todays stresses and problems in a healthy way is definitely possible.

Check out the weblink for a depression screening test to see if have some of the symptoms common with depression.

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